Ice Box Cinnamon Rolls

These cinnamon rolls won a blue ribbon at the 2012 Tillamook County Fair!

Ice Box Cinnamon Rolls

2 TBSP yeast    
1/2 c warm water
2 c lukewarm milk   
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c vegetable oil
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp salt
1 egg
1/4 tsp nutmeg
5-6 c flour

Filling:
2 c brown sugar
1 c butter (no substitutes)
Dissolve yeast in warm water. Stir in milk, sugar, oil, baking powder, salt egg and 2-3 cups of flour and nutmeg. Beat until smooth. Add enough remaining flour to make dough easy to handle. Knead until smooth. Let rise until double (about an hour). Grease two 13 x 9 inch pans. Divide dough in half and roll into 12 x 10 inch rectangle for each half. Heat brown sugar and butter until melted. Remove from heat and stir in 2 tsp cinnamon. Spread over each half of dough and sprinkle with nuts if desired. Roll and slice. Place in greased pans and wrap tightly with foil. Refrigerate at least 12 hours - not more than 48 hours. To bake, remove foil. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.
*May also let rise after placing in pan and bake without refrigeration.

Savory Bread Cases

I doubled the recipe on this one. I am so glad I did! It was a huge hit with the family! The leftover filling also makes a very tasty sauce for macaroni and cheese! This recipe comes from my teammate mummamills from Maryborough, Queensland, Australia. I made this for the July 2010 Aussie/NZ recipe swap.

Savory Bread Cases

24 slices bread - store bought works best

margarine

8 oz bacon (this equals 1/2 lb), diced

1 lg onion, diced

2 cups shredded cheese - I used cheddar and mozzarella

3 tsp minced garlic

8 TBSP flour - you may not need it all

5 cups milk

1 pinch dry mustard

salt and pepper to taste

Cut crusts from bread slices. Spread very lightly with butter or margarine. Press, butter side down into muffin tins. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes - until bread cases are dry. (These can also be frozen for use at a later time.)

Spray frying pan with vegetable oil. Add diced bacon and onion. Saute over a high heat until bacon is cooked. Add garlic and saute a minute longer.

In same skillet- add in flour - 1 TBSP at a time, stirring with a wooden spoon until it is completely absorbed. Keep stirring and gradually whisk in milk. Stir until thickened and there are no lumps. Allow to cook for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly.

Remove from heat and add cheese and mustard. Stir until cheese is melted.

Refrigerate mixture until serving time.

Put bread cases on a large cookie sheet. Fill with cheese mixture. You may want to sprinkle additional cheese on top. I sprinkled parsley for color. Bake ato 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

Scrambled Eggs with a Twist

The true name would be Brunch Eggs. The teammate is JustJanS from Warrnambool Victoria Australia. She found the recipe on the internet. I think it's just a fancy way to make scrambled eggs. The kids really liked it and it reheated just fine in the pan (NOT the microwave) for Russell when he got home from work late. The original recipe called for corn kernels - but that just doesn't sit well with me. Eggs and corn? Not at this house. At least together. For a meal. Oh - and I learned the bell peppers are called capsicum in Australia!

Scrambled Eggs with a Twist
4 oz cream cheese, softened for about 1 minute in the microwave
3/4 cup diced green bell pepper
3/4 cup diced red bell pepper
3/4 cup thinly sliced green onion
4 TBSP butter or margarine, divided
9 eggs
1/4 tsp red chili powder (You can't taste it. I promise.)
salt and fresh ground black pepper to your tastes
6 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled
hot buttered toast for serving
extra chopped green onions for garnish

Saute bell peppers and onion in 2 TBSP butter or margarine over medium heat just until softened. Add sauted veggies to the cream cheese and mix well. Combine eggs and spices. (I prefer to do it in a blender until the eggs are nice and frothy. That's just me though.) Melt remaining 2 TBSP butter or margarine in pan. Add in cream cheese/veggie mixture and egg/spice mixture. Cook over medium heat until eggs are done to your specifications. Not everyone likes them the same. I prefer to have them not soft. Serve over hot buttered toast. Sprinkle with crumbled bacon (I figure one bacon slice per person) and garnish with extra chopped green onion.
We had this for dinner and used my homemade bread for the toast to make a very satisfying meal.

Fruit Kabobs

Want a showstopper? Take this to a potluck or other gathering and it will have that effect! We had dinner with some friends and took this and their 4 year old son was so excited about these! This was part of the May 2010 Aussie/NZ recipe swap I am part of. My team mate is magpie diner from Fraser Valley, B.C. The nice thing about this recipe is you can make it as simple or as elegant as you would like. I am all about frugality so went with the least expensive fruit I could find.

Fruit Kabobs

1/2 whole seedless watermelon

assorted melons such as cantaloupe or honeydew

1 pineapple

assorted smaller fruits such as grapes, blueberries or strawberries if desired

Ball the watermelon and other melons. For the watermelon, scoop out all the watermelon on the half you are going to use to hold the kabobs. Let it air dry for a few hours.

Peel and cube the pineapple.

Arrange fruit on skewers any way you like. Leave about 3 inches of space at the bottom so the skewers can be poked into the shell of the watermelon.

This recipe can be prepared ahead of time. Prepare skewers and lay flat on a cookie sheet and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Sourdough Pancakes #2

This is another Sourdough Pancake recipe we really like. You will just have to scroll down to find the first one. :) This one comes from UnknownChef86 from recipezaar.

Sourdough Pancakes
4 cups sourdough starter
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 TBSP oil
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda

Mix all ingredients very well. Make pancakes on hot griddle. Serve with your favorite pancake toppings. Enjoy!

Cat Head Biscuits with Sawmill Gravy

When I first saw this recipe I did a double take. Cat Head biscuits! No actual cats were used in the making of this recipe. :) This is actually one I chose as part of the May 2010 Aussie/NZ recipe swap. My teammate is Crafty Lady 13 from Dalton, Ohio. She found the recipe in Deen Brother's Y'all Come Eat cookbook. The biscuits have this name because they are the size of a cat's head. I can tell you it was an attention getter at the dinner table though!

Cat Head Biscuits

3 cups self-rising flour**

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

2 TBSP butter or margarine, cut into pieces and softened

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray baking sheet with cooking spray and set aside. In a medium bowl combine flour, buttermilk and butter just until the dough comes together. On a floured surface pat the dough into a 1 1/2 inch thick round. Cut the dough into 6 4-inch circles. (I only had a 3 inch cookie cutter - so mine were a bit smaller.) Transfer biscuits to baking sheet. Bake about 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

**If you are like me and don't buy self-rising flour - it can be made at home. You will need:

1 cup all purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

Mix well and use for every 1 cup of self rising flour.

Sawmill Gravy

1 lb bulk sausage

4 1/2 TBSP flour

2 1/2 cups milk

salt and pepper to taste

In a large skillet brown sausage. Sprinkle flour over sausage and coat well. Gradually add milk and stir. Bring to a boil and stir until gravy is thickened. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Break open biscuits and spoon gravy generously over the top. Enjoy!

Carrot-Apple Bars or Muffins

This recipe actually comes from Taste of Home. I have had it for many years. The original recipe calls it Teddy Carrot Bars because they use Teddy Grahams. I changed some things in the actual recipe to make it work for our jars and jars of food storage.

Carrot-Apple Bars or Muffins

2 1/2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp salt

1 pint carrots, drained

1 pint applesauce

4 eggs

4 TBSP vegetable oil

Combine all ingredients well in a large mixing bowl. You have enough batter here to do a couple different things. You can make 2 9x13 pans OR lots of muffins OR 1 9x13 pan and 12 muffins.

Spray your pans and divide the batter evenly. Bake at 350 degrees. About 20 minutes for the muffins and closer to 30-35 minutes for the 9x13 pan. Cool completely. If desired - frost with favorite cream cheese frosting. I like to frost the 9x13 pan but leave the muffins as is.

Sourdough Starter and Sourdough Pancakes

Sourdough Starter

Sourdough Pancakes

Sourdough Starter

I got this recipe from UnknownChef86 on recipezaar. I have been searching for years for how to make starter and was excited for the information she gave me. I had some at one point many years ago but eventually I forgot about it and it went bad.

1 1/2 tsp yeast

4 cups flour

1 TBSP sugar

3 cups cold water

Stir the yeast into the flour til well mixed. In a medium bowl - whisk the flour yeast mixture and sugar into the water until thoroughly combined. Store in a glass or plastic container. Allow room for fermentation. It will bubble up. Cover top with cheesecloth or towel to allow for ventilation. Stir down occasionally with a wooden or plastic spoon. NEVER use metal utensils or containers. It will react with your starter in a bad way. Refresh the batter at least once a week with 1/2 cup cold water and 3/4 cup flour. If necessary - you can refresh it every three days.

Sourdough Pancakes

This recipe actually belongs to my Grandma Dysart. It's really hard to make without starter so was happy to be making this once again!

3 cups flour

2 cups cold water

2 eggs

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 TBSP hot water

Combine 1 cup sourdough starter with 2 cups cold water and mix well. (Remember - no metal for mixing or bowls.) Slowly add in the 3 cups flour - mix well. It should be the same consistency as the original starter. (Consistency should be like pancake batter.) Cover and set aside overnight. Take out approximately 1 cup starter for next use. (I put this 1 cup starter back in the jar with the above starter recipe and stir it in.) Keep refrigerated.

Beat together eggs, sugar, salt and oil. Add to remaining sourdough "starter." Dilute the baking powder and baking soda in 1 TBSP HOT water. Add to batter just before you are ready to cook. Mix very well, cook pancakes on a griddle and serve.

This makes a lot of pancakes even for our family. We usually have about 6 or so leftover. The kids like to use the leftovers - spread with jam and rolled up.

Yogurt Berry Muffins

I made these for an afterschool snack today. They went over quite well with the family. This recipe comes from my Canadian teammate ~Leslie~ in the Aussie/NZ recipe swap for February 2010. Her recipe calls for strawberry yogurt and strawberries. I went with blueberries. Peach or raspberry would also work well I think.

Yogurt Berry Muffins
2 1/2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 TBSP baking powder
2 eggs
1 cup blueberry yogurt (I did notice the yogurt at the store only comes in 6 oz now - it still works.)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

Glaze:
1/3 cup powdered sugar
3 TBSP orange juice

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease muffin tins or use cupcake liners.
Combine all muffin ingredients except glaze. Pour into 18 muffin cups and bake for 25 - 30 minutes. Let cool.
For the glaze:
Combine both ingredients. This makes a runny glaze. Just so you know. Pour over muffins. Wait for a little bit and the glaze will harden.

Open Omelette

This was a very tasty, hearty and filling breakfast! It takes little time to gather the ingredients. This recipe comes from JoyfulCook. My teammate in the February 2010 Aussie/NZ recipe swap. She lives in South Wales, UK. I am changing a couple things in her recipe to make it more to my tastes.

Open Omelette
vegetable spray
1 or 2 eggs, beaten
1 slice ham or bacon, chopped and precooked
1 TBSP tomato, chopped (I didn't have tomatoes so did mushrooms instead)
1 tsp fresh chives, chopped (or green onion tops - the flavor is comparable)
1/2 potato, precooked, diced (I used 1/2 of a baked potato left from another meal- I also warmed them up in the microwave before adding to the pan.)
salt and pepper to taste
small amount of cheese

Heat frying pan that has been sprayed with vegetable oil. Add beaten egg(s). Add other ingredients. Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes or until the egg(s) is set. I even covered the pan to steam cook the mushrooms and keep the heat in for the potatoes. Very carefully slide the open omelette to a plate and serve with your favorite toast or breakfast bread.

Peanut Butter Granola

I think this is by far my most favorite granola that I've made! It comes from weekend cooker - my teammate for the January 2010 Aussie/NZ recipe swap. This is a filling granola - which I like. I have a feeling you will love it too. :)

Peanut Butter Granola

3 cups regular oats

1/4 cup wheat germ

1/4 cup toasted coconut

1/4 cup sunflower kernels (NOT the shells)

1/4 cup raisins

1/2 cup butter or margarine

1/2 cup creamy or crunchy would be good too - peanut butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

Combine first 5 ingredients in a crock pot. Melt final 3 ingredients either in a saucepan or microwave. Pour over oatmeal mixture and mix well. Cover and cook on low for 1 1/2 hours, stirring every 20 minutes.

Spread onto a cookie sheet and place in 300 degree oven for 20 minutes - stirring every 5 minutes to dry out granola if you prefer it crunchy.

Breakfast Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

This recipe won a red ribbon at the 2012 Tillamook County Fair!  The only change to the below recipe was the handful of fresh blueberries I threw in.  That's it!
Seasoned Cook from Eastern North Carolina had this in her recipe files in our Aussie/NZ recipe swap this month. We had Mom and Dennis over and this was almost gone before I got a picture. It was that good!

Breakfast Cream Cheese Coffee Cake
1/2 cup butter, softened
8 oz cream cheese, softened
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk

Combine all ingredients until mixed well. Pour into greased 9x13 baking pan.
Topping:
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
Combine topping ingredients and sprinkle over coffee cake. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Chocolate Oatmeal Walnut Muffins

I made these yummy muffins over General Conference weekend. It was perfect snacking on these while we watched the speakers share their messages on the computer!
This recipe comes from Mom2Rose from recipezaar. She is from Michigan, USA and found the recipe on the Hershey's website.

Chocolate Oatmeal Walnut Muffins
1 cup quick cooking or regular oats
1 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup light brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup baking cocoa
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Combine all ingredients gently in a mixing bowl. Pour into muffin tins lined with paper baking cups.
Bake 16-18 minutes. I was able to get 12 muffins from this recipe.

All-In-One Breakfast

This picture doesn't do justice to the yummy breakfast this makes! I remembered to take a picture when the pan was already half gone! The whole family really enjoyed this tasty casserole on the first day of school back to school breakfast. This recipe comes from Laurlie41 in Indiana. The hardest part about this recipe is actually getting out of bed early enough to have the casserole ready before the kids leave for school!

All-In-One Breakfast
6 English muffins, split in half
1 lb bulk sausage
12 eggs
8 oz sour cream
1 (4 oz) can diced green chilies, drained
1 cup cheddar cheese

Arrange english muffins in the bottom of a greased 9x13 baking pan. Overlap as necessary so the muffins all fit. Set aside.
Brown sausage. Drain.
In a large bowl whisk eggs. Add in sausage, sour cream and diced chilies. Mix well and pour over english muffins. Press lightly to thoroughly moisten the muffins.
Sprinkle cheese on top. Cover pan and refrigerate overnight.
Bake at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes the next morning. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Southern Caramel Apple Bars

This was super scrumptious and very "fall-ish!" The recipe comes by way of RecipeNut in Rhode Island.
Southern Caramel Apple Bars
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2/3 cup butter
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
4 granny smith apples, peeled and very coarsely chopped
1/2 cup pecans, chopped ( used sliced almonds instead)
24 caramel candies, unwrapped
2 TBSP milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9x13 baking dish.
Combine flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda in medium bowl. Melt butter in large saucepan. Remove from heat; stir in brown sugar and sugar with spoon. Add egg and vanilla; stir until well blended. Add flour mixture; mix well. Press into bottom of prepared baking dish; top with apples.
Bake 40-45 minutes or until edges are browned and pulling away from sides of pan. Cool completely in pan on wire rack.
Toast pecans (or almonds if you are me) in medium nonstick skillet over med-high heat 2 minutes, stirring constantly or until fragrant. Remove from skillet and set aside.
Heat caramels and milk in same skillet over med-low heat, stirring constantly, until melted and smooth.
Drizzle caramel sauce over cooled apple bars; sprinkle with nuts. Let stand 30 minutes before cutting into bars.

**Kim - this is for you! No - I didn't forget to put the recipe down. I started adding pictures so if I was using a different computer adding the words wasn't a problem. I only have the pics on my computer and Nephi was using it.

Easy Hash Brown Pancakes

I made these little tasty morsels today for the September 2008 Aussie/NZ recipe swap. The poster is morgainegeiser from Michigan. She in turn got it from an old "Taste of Home" magazine. Michael liked them so much he gave me a HUGE thumbs up!

Easy Hash Brown Pancakes

3 cups frozen hash brown potatoes**
2 TBSP flour
2 eggs, beaten
3 TBSP butter, melted
1 1/2 tsp water
1/2 tsp salt (OR) salt and pepper to taste - that's what I did
1 TBSP vegetable oil
Place the hashbrowns in a strainer, rinse with cold water until thawed. Drain thoroughly; transfer to a large bowl.
Add the flour, eggs, butter, water and salt; mix well. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Drop batter by 1/3 cupfuls into oil; fry until golden brown on both sides. Drain on paper towels.
**I didn't have frozen hashbrowns. I did have dehydrated ones though. So - I rehydrated them and proceeded making the recipe. They worked out really, really well. We had these for dinner along with french toast. It was perfect.

Biscuits and Sausage Gravy

One of my most favorite comfort foods is biscuits and gravy. It has to be homemade though. I am rather picky that way. I like it served with this yummy fruit salad.

Biscuits and Gravy
Biscuits:
2 cups flour
2 tsp sugar
1 TBSP baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup shortening
2/3 cup milk*
*If you want to use buttermilk - use 3/4 cup buttermilk and add 1/4 tsp baking soda to dry ingredients.
Gravy:
1/3 cup butter or margarine
1/3 cup flour
3 cups milk
1/2 lb ground sausage, precooked
Melt butter. Add flour. Mix well until no lumps are left. Gradually add milk to make a thick gravy. Add sausage, salt and pepper to taste. For biscuits - combine dry ingredients. Cut in shortening and add milk. Roll out and cut into desired size. Bake at 450 degree oven for 10-12 minutes. Serve gravy over biscuits.

Fruit Salad

1 8 oz Pina Colada yogurt

2 medium bananas, sliced

1 cup fresh strawberries, sliced

1 cup green grapes

1 cup red grapes

1 11 oz can mandarin oranges, drained

Combine all ingredients well in bowl. Serve right away.

** Of course other fruits can be added. This is what I had available. Any yogurt can used as well. This one happens to be my favorite. Enjoy!

Apple & Almond Teacake

Apple & Almond Teacake

This recipe was hit with the family. It was made for the July 2008 NZ/Aussie recipe swap. The recipe comes from Mischka of South Australia! While eating this tasty cake - I was thinking...pineapple would be really good on top too! A rightside up pineapple cake!

1 cup butter

1 1/3 cups sugar

4 eggs

2 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2/3 cup milk (I used buttermilk - it was so moist!)

2 apples, peeled and grated

1/2 cup slivered almonds (I used sliced almonds and ran them through the food processor a bit.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 9x13 pan with vegetable spray.

Using an electric mixer - cream the butter and sugar in large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs until combined. Add flour, baking powder and salt and milk. Mix very well.

Pour into prepared pan. Sprinkle evenly with the apples then top with almonds.

**Side note - I also sprinkled the top of the cake with cinnamon-sugar before popping it in the oven.

Bake for about 45 minutes.

Delice Lorraine

We had the most amazing dinner last night. I am participating in the Aussie/ NZ June recipe swap on recipezaar.com. I make recipes from the different people on my team and they make some of mine. This recipe comes from Jen T in New Zealand.

Delice Lorraine (Crepes with cheese & ham filling)

Serves 4-6 so increase as needed

4-6 crepes (made from your favorite recipe)

4-6 slices ham (I used the deli lunch ham)

12-16 TBSP medium cheddar cheese

12-16 TBSP additional grated cheese

4-6 TBSP heavy cream (I used whipping cream - I didn't want it too heavy)

Parsley to garnish

Lay crepes out flat and top with sliced ham. I used two slices ham per crepe as they were very thin. Top with 3-4 TBSP grated cheese. Roll up each crepe so that they resemble a big fat cigar. Place in a baking dish that will hold them in one layer. I spray my pan with veggie spray. Top each crepe with another 3-4 TBSP grated cheese. Finally, pour a TBSP of cream over each crepe. This can all be done in advance. Just place in refrigerator. I baked mine in a 425-450 degree oven for about 10 minutes. Not very long. Just long enough for the cheese on top to melt and start to brown.

**Note - I added asparagus as you can see in the picture. You could experiment with different meat/veggie combinations. Go ahead. Be creative. That's what cooking is all about.